Harry Potter and the Power of Clan Evans
by Rikki Felidae
Summary: Harry gets a confusing letter from his godfather the summer before fourth year and what he gets told will change everything. Not all planned out, so I might add more to this, expect it to get more AU as I write xD EDIT: Going through a Revision as of August 2012
1. The Letter

Harry had been sitting in his room for most of the two weeks following his return to number 4 Private drive. He couldn't help but feel devestated about what had happened just a few weeks ago. Just when he had resigned himself to coming home year after year to this mindless, friendless, house that his Headmaster insisted was the safest place for him a glimmer of hope had appeared. That hope came in the form of his long-lost, thought-to-be-criminal, godfather. Best friend to his father even: Sirius Black. The man had escaped from the most notorious prison in the wizarding world just to see _him_, to make sure he was okay. He had even gone so far as to offer Harry a home…something the boy had been wishing for ever since he had become aware of just how much his relatives hated his very presence in their lives.

But then it had all been torn away. Stupid Pettigrew. Stupid Snape. Stupid Professor Lupin forgetting his potion. Stupid Dumbledore for forcing him to come back here in the first place!

No, that wasn't fair. At the very least it wasn't the werewolf's fault that he had been distracted that day. It definitely wasn't his fault that he had been bitten by a cursed wolf as a child. No the blame was hard to place on anyone that day. Harry remembered being told of the trick his godfather had pulled that had almost cost his Potion's master his life and thought that he couldn't REALLY even blame Snape for jumping to conclusions; he was still a greasy git though. Well…he could blame the Rat at least. Hatefully the almost-14-year-old wizard felt like he was cheated out of something that he had earned, and something that he should have never lost in the first place: a home.

Hadn't he earned the right to a real home? He, with the help of his friends, had defended the school not once...but twice! When no adults would take them seriously the 'Golden Trio' had saved the day. He had almost died both times! Tried to be killed by the most feared Dark Wizard in almost a century three times! Surely that counted for something…didn't it?

His thoughts were interrupted by the tapping at his window. At first he thought it was Hedwig but then he remembered that she was outside, spending as little time in the Dursley house as she could. He couldn't really blame her. Slowly he got out of his bed and went over to the window, pleasantly surprised to see a brightly plumed parrot that must mean Sirius had written. He let the bird in to perch on his owl's stand as he took the letter from its leg. He was right, he recognized the handwriting from the note he had gotten on the train home. He left the window open so the bird could leave when it was rested and sat down to read the letter.

_**Dear Harry,**_

_**Hope this finds you well and your aunt and uncle aren't giving you too hard of a time. After I wrote to you about your broom I realized you might not want to hear from me much, knowing I cannot fulfill my promise to you. I am so truly sorry that I cannot give you the home that I had promised on that night that we finally met again after so long. I cannot help but feel that I mishandled the situation and let **__**Wormtail get away. I'm going to find a way to make it up to you, if you will let me have another chance to fix all of this, even if I have to track the traitor to the ends of the Earth. **_

_**The other thing that prompted me to write this letter (even though I was warned by the Headmaster and Remus that it might not be safe, I needed to ask you. Even if you never want to hear from me again I need to ask this.) was why you did not transform into your Natura form that night when Moony transformed? You never told me what your form was, and I forgot to ask, but you should have known that werewolves will not hunt animal forms as much as they will a human. I know that you wouldn't want to abandon your friends or make a spectacle of yourself but your safety is important. **_

_**Promise me that next time you get into a dangerous situation (it seems that trouble follows you) that you will use any tool that you can to insure your safety. I heard a rumor that you are a Parselmouth as well when I was wandering around the castle. As much as I hate anything that has to do with the snake house of Hogwarts even that could be useful for you in the right situation. There is no shame in using anything you can when the odds have been stacked so far against you. **_

At first Harry was shocked to think that his godfather thought that Harry could possibly blame him and not want to talk to him again. In all of his anger it had never really occurred to him to blame the man. Maybe there were things he could have done better but odds had been stacked against him just as they had been for Harry himself. And honestly who could ask a wrongly convicted man who had just escaped from a prison known for driving its prisoners insane to think clearly? The comment about his ability to speak to snakes surprised him as well. The way the most Gryffindors talked about the Slytherins and his experiences his second year had forced the ability to the back of his mind as something he never even wanted to consider again. He still wasn't sure he wanted anything to do with talking to snakes and he certainly wasn't about to go and buy one as a pet or anything but Sirius had made a good point and he vowed to keep the advice in mind. The rest of the letter had gone right over his head in the first read and Harry read it again to try and figure out what the man was trying to say.

After a third read through of the letter it had started to really sink in and all he was thinking about that second paragraph…Natura form? It almost sounded like his godfather expected Harry to be able to transform into an animal…but he wasn't an Animagus and he had never even heard of this ...Natura thing before. He noticed that the brightly colored parrot was still there and wrote out a quick note, asking Sirius just what he was talking about and assuring him he wasn't angry with him or his former defense professor, and watched it fly off with confusion added to and even slightly replacing the depression in his heart.

* * *

Five days later another tropical bird appeared, this time when Harry was leaning against the house in the shade, trying to avoid his Aunt who was determined to give him yard chores again today. Normally he didn't mind too much when he was forced to labor in the yard, it was nice to work and not have to think about anything. The fresh air was also a welcome change from the gloominess of his room that was bare bones and only full of broken furniture. His Aunt never let him near her precious garden, of course, but he was often told to mow the grass or trim some of the hedges in the back that weren't very well seen from the street. Anything near the road was seen to by his Uncle.

Today was different though, today he needed to think. He was still so confused by his godfather's last letter. What was an Natura form? The question had haunted him for the past five days. And what would his Aunt know about it? She had never shown any knowledge of anything magical before, besides some very basic things that she must have been told by his mother. She wouldn't really say anything if she did know, he was sure. She wasn't very involved with anything 'abnormal', and hated anything about it. Fantasy, magic, anything even resembling such things were taboo in the Dursley household. The bird that was almost anxious in its fluttering by his head only made him more anxious to find out what was going on. Harry pointed the bird in the direction of his bedroom window and quickly snuck back into the house. Suddenly he was very glad that post-birds in the Magical world seemed to be very very intelligent.

Having narrowly avoided his Aunt and Cousin who were arguing over Dudley's new diet again, his school had sent a person along with the letters saying that he was setting a bad example for the younger students and that he was on probation unless he could get to a more healthy weight. They had sent similar letters through the post before but Vernon Dursley wasn't having any of that 'hippy veg stuff' and so they were all ignored. A person from the school must have been enough to fuel the gossip mill around the neighborhood and his Aunt put her foot down, not wanting to seem anything less than normal.

Harry closed his door as softly as possible and took the awaiting package from the bird. Momentarily he wondered why he was getting a slim package instead of a letter but he quickly opened it up to find only a small hand mirror and a note.

_**Harry,**_

_** First of all thank you for another chance to make things right. It means a lot to me to know you still want me in your life. Mooney was a bit shocked to hear you do not blame him either, he isn't used to people being so understanding when they find you about... well you know. I told him you wouldn't hate him but he didn't believe me until he saw it in writing himself. I think he is still in abit of shock.**_

_** Now, this is a two-way mirror that we made for use during detentions, I have the mate to it. I had Remus send it to me, to forward onto you since he is staying in my old home right now. He wanted to just send it to you directly but I have a feeling your post is screened to protect you from anyone who might have have Dark loyalty. I was shocked at first that you weren't told about your family heritage by your Aunt but then I remembered a bit about her spiteful streak and I suppose I shouldn't have been. However it is certainly not safe to write about so get to a safe place and activate the mirror by saying 'Calling Padfoot' (That was my nickname with your father and Remus, we called your father Prongs ( he was a Stag Animagi ) and called Remus Moony, for obvious reasons. Peter was called Wormtail…it suits him more than we realized at the time)**_

_**Talk to you soon**_

Harry snuck back downstairs, clutching the mirror and walked down the street to the park. Thankfully his Aunt and Cousin had just left for a birthday party in another neighborhood and all of 'Big D's' gang would be there. This meant that the park would have only small children and strangers who wouldn't care who he was or why he was there. On the way there he thought about the first part of the note. He had been angry for a bit at the werewolf, it was hard not to be, but once he realized the man had no real control over anything that had happened helped him to forgive any blame there might have been. Absently he realized he should write to the man directly. He had been a good friend of his parents as well apparently and Harry couldn't risk any connection to them that he found. They were simply too important.

He found a small bench behind a bunch of bushes and sat down. Quickly and antsy with excitement Harry pulled the mirror up to his face and spoke quietly,

"Calling Padfoot."

* * *

AN: Hello...Welcome to my first...posted...chaptered Fic. Well the first one in a while. I make no promises as to updates, it may be days, weeks or years. I should have the next chapter up soon at least, because I almost added it to this, but I wanted to post it and leave you hanging for a bit ;)

I'm a little antsy about the characterization so if anything seems TOO odd let me know. I am changing up a few things slightly, for one because I don't LOVE the way JKR wrote some of the characters( okay many of them) but also becasue I'm...not that great a writer yet. Anyway, sorry its short, but let me know what you think!

EDIT: changing ANIMA(latin for Soul) to Natura(Latin for Essence) If I missed one, let me know!

_EDIT2: This story started revision August 5th 2012. I am going chapter by chapter. I will add an edit like thing one to the end of each chapter once I have finished revising it. I encourage anyone who has read this story before to reread the chapters after I have updated them as some fairly major things might very well change._


	2. The Mirror Talk

_"Calling Padfoot_" Harry said softly, wondering momentarily how loud he had to speak for the magic mirror to pick up his voice but his thoughts didn't get very far when the image of his godfather appeared instead of his own reflection.

"I'm here Harry; it's good to see you." The man replied with a worried smile ghosting over his face. Since Harry has last seen his godfather Sirius had trimmed his hair, shaved off the raggedy beard, tanned a little, and was over-all just looking less like the haunted and slightly deranged man from a month or so ago. He was glad to see that Sirius was doing better, but could also still see that he had a ways to go before his recovery was even close to normal. The fact that the man was now looking quite anxious didn't improve his looks any. Not that Harry really cared how his godfather looked… he just wanted the man to be happy again, like in the old pictures in his album.

"Hey Siri—er, I mean. Hi," Harry replied, momentarily forgetting that it wasn't a good idea to mention the name of a man-on-the-run in the park where anyone could hear.

"You can call me Padfoot if you want Harry, or Neal. That's the alias I'm using in…well…where I'm at. " Sirius replied distractedly, and then launched into the problem that had prompted the conversation. "So what's this about not knowing your Natura form?"

"Padfoot I don't even know what an Natura form IS, and why would Aunt Petunia know anything about it? She's a muggle, like the rest of my relatives, and hates anything…'abnormal'," Harry replied with a confused tone to his voice "including anything that had to do with Mum and Dad."

"Oh Harry, I knew she was a spiteful woman, Lily had told us about their falling out, but I never really thought that she would keep this part of your family's heritage from you as like your magical one. Considering it comes from her mother and her grandmother and all the Evans women before them I thought she would have at least wanted to…gloat or something," the mirror went blurry for a second as the man shook his head. "Okay, well, I will try to explain as best as I can but unfortunately I only know so much. You might have to talk to your Aunt for some of this…"

"You can't be serious," the young boy said, doubt and a bit of fear in his voice. Asking questions of any of his relatives never went well for him. The idea of asking his Aunt for anything made him doubt he would even bother with whatever this Natura thing was.

"I am Sirius!" His godfather replied, laughing awkwardly at the awful pun that must have been an old joke amongst the Marauders. "I hope it doesn't come to that, so here's all that I know." He continued after a moment of uncomfortable silence. Harry was much to anxious to appreciate the joke. "You've been told that Lily and her family were muggles, and that's true. From time to time throughout their history a witch or wizard pops up, but they are no pure bloodline. They were far from ordinary muggles though. For one thing they all knew of the wizarding world and of magic. As one of the Natura clans they were exempt from the Statute of Secrecy."

"What's an Natura Clan?" interrupted Harry "I've never heard of them. Hermione might know, but I've never heard her mention them."

"If anyone you're age had heard of them it would be that girl." Sirius said with another smile ghosting over his face "They aren't well known in mainstream wizarding culture but I believe you're mother had found at least one or two books in the Hogwarts library that mentioned her family and heritage."

"If she did know, I wonder why she never mentioned anything to me," Harry thought aloud, sounding slightly hurt.

"Well did she even know your mother's maiden name?" His godfather replied evenly "And even if she did she might not have made the connection. Many of the Natura families migrated to less densely populated areas like the Americas, Africa, Asia, even part of the continent although they all originated in Britain to act as liaisons between muggle and magical worlds. They have a deep connection with nature though and prefer to live in areas that aren't so heavily industrialized or landscapes changed by humanity."

"Oh…well what is an Natura Clan anyway, and what is this other form I'm supposed to have. It almost sounded to me like you expected me to be an animagus like you and Dad…"

"A Natura form and an animagus form is similar in concept but very different in the details. The basic concept is the same at least: the ability to turn into an animal form and both are an outward reflection of you personality, but that is where the similarities end. Whereas an animagus can only turn into a nonmagical animal an Natura form can be anything. That form can even be a combination of animals not seen anywhere else. Also from the way I understand them both you cannot manipulate your Natura form at all where there is a little leeway in a final animagus form."

"So you ARE saying I should be able to turn into an animal," Harry said, trying to get some clarification. He was still very confused and all the little details were not helping him.

"Well yes. All of the Clans of Natura have an ability specific to that clan. Your mother once told me that one of the other clans could speak to animals, their power was called Natura Speech, and another clan was rumored to have the power to summon elemental Natura guardians, but they are said to have died out decades ago." Sirius paused for a second but hastily continued when he saw the anxious face of his godson. "The Clan of Evans is known for the matrilineal power to transform into their unique Natura form."

"Wait doesn't matrilineal mean from mother to daughter? I'm a guy…" Harry sounded doubtful.

"Well your parents did consider naming you Harriet...," Sirius said with a laugh although he quickly continued as he second joke only earned him another anxious look "But the power can be passed to a son if the father is an animagus or from another Natura clan, although that has a rarer chance of the skill passing down. Usually, according to your mother, children of the clan were raised and trained in their power all together. She also said that the transformation was mastered at about the age of 10, although earlier was pretty common. I know that even Petunia mastered it pretty early, although Lily would never tell us what her form was. I think she assumed we'd make fun of her sister. We would have too, I'm sure. Your Aunt never did like us much, by the time Lily had befriended us enough for us to meet her family Petunia had already started to reject everything…abnormal, as you put it. I'm sure she was relieved when your cousin turned out to be a boy."

"Er…Siri- I mean Neal…do you think she even knew that Dad was an Animagus? Maybe she didn't know that I could have inherited the power…" Harry interrupted as the thought struck him. Sirius was silent for a second as he thought about it then shrugged.

"It's a possibility… it certainly doesn't seem like her to hold back with something she could have gloated about. Her being the older sister she mastered her transformation first and according to Lily, she loved to lord about looking like the worst sort of pureblood and remind everyone as she and Lils started growing apart." He was quiet again then continued. "Then again she might have been in denial Harry… from what I've seen of the man she married that sort of discussion would not go over well." Harry snorted in amusement at the thought.

"That's an understatement Padfoot." They were both quiet again for a bit before Harry jumped back into the questions. "So how do I…use…er…train this Natura power? How do I even know my form?" Again the screen blurred as Sirius shrugged.

"I don't really know Harry; she never really talked about her training with us. I remember James saying that the meditation to find your form is similar though, so I can help with that much at least. " A look of regret flashed over the man's face before he looked back into the mirror. "Once you get that far you'll have to ask your Aunt, or see if there are any distant relatives who would be willing or able to walk you through the rest of the process. You should have been taught by Lily, Petunia and your grandmother, but they are either not alive or not willing, so it will be quite a bit more difficult."

"It's okay Padfoot, I'm used to having to work more than anyone else to get through things." There wasn't exactly bitterness in Harry's voice but there was a tone there that made his godfather quite sad.

"There…is one other person you might ask Harry" Sirius continued slowly, almost as he would rather not say what he was about to say "Lily was good friends with your current Potions Professor before she mastered her ability, he might know of some of the ways she trained them." Harry looked at him in shock.

"Snape…the same man who tried to get your soul sucked out… the same man who got Professor Lupin to leave. You mean he used to know Mum?" He just couldn't believe it! What would his mother want anything to do with that mean bitter old man?

"Yeah, we never really understood it either but he knew Lily longer than any of us besides her sister, so if you absolutely have to, you can ask him," he laughed "but I doubt you'll get that desperate!"

"Yeah," Harry laughed lightly as well, feeling better after talking with his godfather and getting some answers "I'd rather ask Aunt Petunia then that old bat, and that's saying something!"

"That's the spirit Harry!" Sirius said, also looking better for getting answers of his own. "But you better get home. It wouldn't be good to get your Aunt mad at you when you need information from her. And I'll get Moony to send you a book on Animagus transformations so you can look over the first few chapters to find your form."

"Thanks Padfoot, for everything. I'll call you on the mirror once I look through the book," the young man said with a thankful smile. Finally there was an adult in his life that was looking out for him!

"Good deal Pup," Sirius grinned back and waved, "I'll talk to you later."

With that the older man cut the connection and Harry straightened up, realizing that it was time for him to get back and help his Aunt with dinner. He didn't want to be late. Like his godfather said, it wouldn't be good to get her even more upset with him when he needed information from her badly. Life had certainly thrown another thing at him that he would have to deal with, but hopefully this one would be a lot more useful in the times to come.

* * *

AN: well there you go everyone, the major explanation. I hope it meets all of your expectations, and please tell me what you think! If anyone has a better suggestion for a better name than Anima, let me know. It was just the first thing that came to mind.

Yes I know what his form is, and his mothers...but not his Aunts...suggestions?

No I don't know how or by whom he's getting trained. It's a tossup between hints from Petunia, grudging hints from Snape, learning from a book Hermione finds, correspondence with a distant relative, or Mooney(- who would be well…benefiting from some training as well, but that's all I'm saying about that.)

Other than some small things I have no idea where this is going, so feel free to add some suggestions, I find I am quickly becoming addicted to reviews, I'd love to hear why you all like/dislike the story!

EDIT: changing ANIMA(latin for Soul) to Natura(Latin for Essence) If I missed one, let me know!

_EDIT2: Revised 8/5/2012. Less Edits than the first chapter but you still might want to reread!_


	3. The Red Flower Diary

Harry was walking back to number four while lost in his thoughts. All those revelations that his godfather had told to him made his head spin. He felt as if his world had been turned upside down… again. He had the feeling that it wasn't going to stop happening anytime soon either. His entire life since his eleventh birthday had been a series of life changing events, one after another. He wasn't even sure his world had settled into any sense of normal for the past four years. This was all still quite a shock, though, and he almost didn't notice the package wrapped in parchment and addressed to him that was sitting on the back porch. Curiously he picked it up and walked into the house.

Unfortunately his aunt had returned from dropping Dudley off. She noticed him coming in and quickly stormed over, snatching the parcel from his hands, her eyes flashing with anger as he looked up at her indigently.

"What the hell-" he cried out before realizing who was standing in front of him.

"Where. Have. You. Been." She spat out, glancing around the house nervously. "You know how Vernon and my Dudley are if they get home and you aren't helping me cook the meal." She sounded very worried and for once Harry almost felt sorry for her.

"Sorry Aunt Petunia. I went for a walk in the park," he said, trying to explain without really telling her what he had been doing. Usually it was hopeless but he had to try "I lost track of time, but I hurried back as soon as I could once I realized how late it was…" he was surprised when she simply frowned at him for a moment, then nodded and set the package on the counter.

"Yes well, we better get cooking. You can have your parcel back after dinner," she said with great disdain for the object as she went back to the vegetables that she had been washing and motioned for him to start cooking the meat. Harry sighed but got to working. He knew that his Aunt was right and the last thing he needed was more tension in this house. His uncle and cousin being even angrier at him would only make a difficult task impossible.

"And half portions for your neglectful timing." Harry groaned internally, but continued to work as quickly as he could. Half portions of less than half of what a normal person to eat was barely any dinner at all.

Dinner time arrived with many comments about the food being a few minutes late. Harry fixed a small plate of food under the watchful eye of his Aunt and took it up to his room to eat like he often did. His thoughts wandered over the revelations as he ate. He came back down after his Uncle and Cousin were finished eating to clean the kitchen, as he did every night, and after a moment's thought nodded in thanks when his Aunt handed him back the parchment wrapped package when he was done. He made his way up to his bedroom and closed the door softly. The package only had his name on it, no address, so it couldn't have come from the muggle post and owls usually waited for the recipient to take the delivery from them. So he wondered just how this had gotten on the back porch of the house?

With his curiosity overriding any sense of caution Harry tore open the parchment to find a smallish red leather diary with two flowers on the front. He opened the cover curiously and paused to read the note that fell out.

_**Harry,**_

_**I know that you must hate me, for the damage I have done to your life but this belonged to your mother and so now belongs with you. Sirius had it with him the day he…confronted me and I've had it hidden away all these years. I want you to know that I still cared for your parents Harry, and my friends, I just didn't want to die…I don't want to die. Is that so hard for everyone to understand? I just hope that you can find it within you to forgive me, and let me run in peace. You're the only one who could talk Sirius into letting me go. Please Harry. I don't want to die…**_

_**-Peter**_

Harry snarled in disgust and anger at what he had just read. All the little Rat wanted was to bribe him into letting him run off. Like hell that was going to happen. Sirius deserved his freedom and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that Peter was caught and handed in to clear his godfather's name. As for this book that supposedly belonged to his mother…what he said might be true. A bribe doesn't work so well if it's false. The events of his second year came to mind quickly, however, and he set the red bound book to the side of his nightstand. He would write to Remus and Sirius asking what to do, and if they had ever seen the book before. Right now all he needed to worry about was getting on the good side of his Aunt.

* * *

A few days later the book from Remus and a reply to his question of the red book arrived. Apparently his mother had spoken only once of a diary that she and her sister used to keep, and that they had shared it because it was their favorite color and had both of their namesake flowers on the front. Now Harry didn't really know what a petunia or lily looked like but he did know that his Aunt's favorite color was red, so the facts did start to add up. He was still cautious, however, and decided to only look at the first few pages. If they were blank he would put it in his trunk to show his two confidants later. To his confusion and slight disappointment the pages weren't blank but full of gibberish letters all jumbled together. He thought there might be a charm on it to prevent others from reading it and resolved to as Hermione in a letter. For now he set it back on his nightstand.

'_Inner Spirit'_ by Nattily Nearsborn, the book from the Black family library that Remus had sent to him on his godfather's request, was proving to be a useful read. Although the actual process of becoming an Animagus required some potions and some custom spell work, discovering the form one would take was actually a seemingly simple meditation.

Harry only thought it was simple until he tried it.

Although it certainly was easier than the rest of the process of becoming an animagus would have been, keeping his attention on one thing for long enough to calm his heart rate and mental state was hard to grasp. The young man could only hold his attention to the meditation for about a minute at a time and that was with practice. The next step promised to be just as hard, if not harder for Harry. He had always thought that he had a well-rounded imagination as a child. There just wasn't much to do in the darkness of his cupboard but think most of the time. He was very well accustomed to imagining people and places in his mind. According to this book, though, he would have to construct a complete mental landscape for his form to appear in so completely that he had to FEEL like he was there physically. The setting itself was specific to him, a place where he felt most at home, the key being it had to be a natural setting.

Harry had always liked to look at pictured of tall mountains and he loved the feeling of the air as it got chilly, but not quite cold enough, or with enough moisture, to snow. In between the cooking and cleaning he had to do to help around the house Harry found himself working on the visualization and his concentration. Over the next few days he could feel his progress as he began to get more familiar with how his mind worked. He worked his way to about four minutes at a time and started to be able to feel the chill of the mountain air around him.

The feeling of complete peace that building this mental landscape was giving his was slightly addicting and it was pretty easy to lose track of time while in that state so he wasn't surprised when his Aunt had to come upstairs to get remind him it was time to help with lunch. What he didn't expect what the look of shock and distress on her face when she noticed the red book on his nightstand.

"Where did you find that you little sneak!?"

* * *

AN:Gaaa its so short T.T but I just had to end it here, I'm sorry xD I really felt like I needed to get this typed up and posted today because of all the craziness with the edits yesterday. I didn't realize there was an easier way to do it until I was don't, so sorry for the inbox spam.

I have figured out who is going to teach him.

Someone asked if Dudley should inherit the power and the only way to do that would have Vernon be from one of the Natura Clans as well. (EDIT: Dudley will NOT inherit power.)

I still don't know Petunia's form

_EDIT2: Edited 8/5/2012_


	4. The Strike

_The feeling of complete peace that building this mental landscape was giving his was slightly addicting and it was pretty easy to lose track of time while in that state so he wasn't surprised when his Aunt had to come upstairs to get remind him it was time to help with lunch. What he didn't expect what the look of shock and distress on her face when she noticed the red book on his nightstand._

"_Where did you find that?"_

Harry glanced at the red diary next to him and swallowed in alarm, she looked quite angry with him. "Er…well that was in the package I found on the back porch Aunt Petunia," He tried to reply as calmly as he could. "I didn't read it though," the young teen added hastily, and explained when she looked doubtful. "The letters are all jumbled. I-I think mum…well…I think she put a charm on it so other people couldn't read it. "

She glared at him for the reminder of the magical world but said nothing about it. "Well you can't read it so there is no use in you having it." The older woman snapped at him "Give it here and go down and cook. The recipe for the veg and casserole is on the table; make sure you follow it exactly!" Harry hesitated only a moment before doing as she had told him, handing her the book then making his way down the stairs sadly. He started to fix the meal, frowning in frustration.

'_Just as I get something to remember my mother by it gets taken away_,' He thought irritably. It just never seemed fair that everyone in his life only told him about his father. Sure his mother had been a Muggleborn but she had to have had friends at school right? All he had was the pictures in the photo album, but that just didn't feel enough, he wanted something that she had held or treasured. At least from his father he had the cloak and the map. '_Oh well…nothing I can do about it now. Too bad she's so upset now; I had just worked up the courage to ask her about the Natura clans._' He thought with a feeling of resignation he was all too used to.

Dinner was served on time with neither Dursley male the wiser to what had happened just an hour earlier. Both of them were too concerned with the extra vegetables on their plate to notice that their wife or mother was subdued that evening. As soon as the father and son lumbered off to sit in front of the television Petunia rushed off upstairs and Harry quickly went back down to clean up the mess they left behind before they had a chance to yell at him about it. As soon has he finished he escaped back up to his room. Harry thought that he should keep working on his meditation and visualization but his emotions were just too…everywhere for him to concentrate.

Angrily he sat at his desk and realized he hadn't written to his friends in a few days. Ron had written him a very excited letter about tickets to the World Cup that he had yet to reply to. He also wanted to write to Sirius about the diary and his progress on his transformation, and a reply to Professor Lupin too. For a moment he considered writing Hermione about the Natura clans but she would want to know where he had heard of such a thing and he agreed with his godfather, this was all to much to put into a letter.

His room was growing very dark and halfway through his rant about Wormtail in Sirius' letter he paused as raised voices could be heard from downstairs.

"You're talking about my baby sister Vernon! This diary is the only thing I have to remind me of how she was before…before she abandoned me! If her last wish was to treat her son well then I'm going to start fulfilling that wish!"

"I don't care what your Freak sister wrote in that bloody little book! That boy doesn't even deserve what we've given him!"

"Well I-!"

"Don't you dare talk to me like-!"

There was a crash and a shout, then nothing.

Silence

Harry stepped out of his door to try and see what happened only to witness Dudley running up the stairs, sniffling and rubbing at his eyes and nose. Then his cousin almost barreled into him and their eyes met, he could see the pain in those green eyes just a few shades from his own.

"H-h-harry…D-d-d-dad just…he hit mum!" the 14-year-old boy stuttered out in shock and confusion.

"What?" Harry was feeling shocked himself. Although Vernon Dursley had always been harsh with his nephew the man had never even raised his voice at his wife or son, much less raised his hand.

"Th-they were arguing over s-s-some s-s-st-stupid book and D-d-dad got m-mad, something happened and he hit her...th-then he drove off!" Suddenly the boy's gaze gained heat and he shoved his cousin to the ground "It's a-all your fault you freak!"

The young wizard just sat there a moment, his own shock still apparent on his face. He didn't even notice that he was on the floor or see his Cousin run crying into his own room, but the words hit home. Of course it was his fault, his Aunt and Uncle had never wanted anything to do with him…why would that change now? He didn't even register as his feet took him down the stairs and toward the kitchen where the sound of sobbing was coming from.

His Aunt's sobbing.

This was too much and he sank to the floor as his mind tried to comprehend. She was crying over his mother… His aunt had almost seemed to be... defending Harry –the-Freak, sure it was out of guilt and not love but she… had she really defended him? Said he had the right to be treated better? He couldn't believe it. Didn't believe it.

"…hit me," He then noticed his aunt's broken voice speaking quietly, although he was sure she wasn't talking to him. "Can't believe…but it was Lily's…not letting him burn…no not this…oh Harry…too bitter…my nephew…her blood…deserved better..."

Suddenly it was all too much and he ran upstairs and collapsed on his bed. It was dark but sleep eluded him. He refused to think about what had just happened. After several hours he worked up the willpower to go over to his desk and finish the letters he had started. He finished the letter to Sirius mentioning very little about what had him so upset. A quick letter to his former Professor was started but he didn't like anything he wrote and threw it all in his small waste paper bin. Finally he felt tired enough to sleep and fell back into his bed.

* * *

When morning finally came Harry was woken by the sound of his Cousin racing down the stairs and slamming the front door. Starting to panic he realized he was late starting breakfast and rushed downstairs with a growing feeling of dread. Automatically he started the frying pan and gathered the ingredients he would need to make the usual breakfast. When he was nearly half way done cooking however he realized no one was coming down for the meal. Suddenly he recalled his cousin saying something about Uncle Vernon driving off after everything last night. The noise that woke him up must have been Dudley leaving the house and his Aunt was no where to be seen. Lately she had been fixing half the meal for her son as, in her own words, "[she] can't trust a freak to cook something for [her] precious Duddykins without contaminating it" even though he had been doing the work for years.

Absently he stopped cooking and looked down at what he had already prepared. Thankfully it was only the first half of the bacon, eggs and hashbrowns he normally made but it was still more than twice what he could eat himself and he was loath to waste any food after being denied it as a punishment on a regular basis. With a sudden thought the teen dug around the cabinets to find some rarely used plastic storage containers and put the leftovers in the refrigerator. He wasn't sure what was going to happen in the future but experience told him not to waste food.

The quiet house was grating on his nerves so Harry took his food back up to his room, eating the meal as quickly as he could in case his Aunt was around and wanted to restrict his portions even more. He felt worried enough as it was that he had eaten his fill of breakfast instead of the small amount he had been told to take the night before.

As soon as he finished he went back downstairs to finish the dishes as quickly as he could. Just as he was finishing he heard someone moving around in his Aunt and Uncle's bedroom and hastily went back to his own bedroom. The last thing he wanted to do right now was be anywhere near his Aunt. Once he took refuge on his bed the memory of the previous night came back to him. The words his Aunt had been muttering over and over last night haunted Harry now. she had tried to defend him and gotten hit for it.

It really was all his fault. They had never asked to take him in, their opinion had never been asked. They certainly made sure he had known that from a young age. Sullenly he realized his very presence here was tearing this family apart. Even if he had never been a part of their family his relatives had been happy together. A part of him resented them so much but he couldn't stand to be the cause of the destruction of any family. He sat up and looked around his room with a determined feeling.

He would have to leave.

Harry knew no one would approve but he had run to the wizarding world last year, he would just have to do it again. he would have to find some way to convince them he couldn't come back here but one thing was clear, he couldn't stay here. Quickly he gathered his things from his room but paused when he realized his most important items were locked under the stairs. With a start he realized he knew where the key was and no one was awake or around to stop him from using it. As a child he had been helpless when the door locked from the outside and once he had started Hogwarts he had simply been too intimidated by his Aunt, Uncle and Cousin to even think about trying to sneak anything out. Now though...what was really to stop him?

With that thought in mind the young wizard told his ever faithful owl to deliver the letters he had finally finished (making no mention in any of them of his plan to leave of course) and catch up with him when she was done. He knew without a doubt she could find him anywhere in the world. Quietly as he could, making sure to skip all the right squeaky steps on the stairs, bringing what little he kept in his room with him down. With a slightly anxious feeling Harry got the key from the kitchen drawer. Running away felt so different when you weren't spitting angry.

"Some Bloody Gryffindor I am!" He muttered to himself and almost started at the sound of his own voice. _Can't even run away from this house, for the second time. I've faced down one of the worst wizarding villains in recent history twice, well three times now and come away alive and I m too scared to even unlock a cupboard. _

With a deep breath to bolster his nerves Harry took the key and went to get his things. Just after he got the door open Harry opened the lid to his trunk, dug out his Father's cloak and stored his other things inside. He was just thinking of how he could haul himself outside to summon the Knight Bus again when he heard footsteps walking down the stairs. His first instinct was to try and bolt out of the door, but his moment's hesitation lead to his Aunt realizing what he was trying to do.

"You...were going to leave too weren't you," her voice sounded so strange to Harry. He had never heard her sound so... defeated before. It threw him off and he just stared at her for a moment before answering out of habit.

"Yes Aunt Petunia..." he said cautiously then continued as he felt emboldened by the pain in her voice. "All of this is my fault. You were never asked to take me in, I was just dumped upon you. Just by living here I'm tearing your family apart and I can't let that happen even if you all...would rather I wasn't around. Well, the feeling is mutual so I'm leaving. Like last summer, only sooner and I don't plan on ever coming back."

She went pale and was quiet for such a long time Harry couldn't stand it any longer and turned to leave just as she started to speak again.

"You can't, actually, he won't let you."

"Who? Uncle Vernon left and-"

"Your Headmaster."

"Professor Dumbledore?"

"Yes, him. it was all in that letter he left with you...that night," Harry was shocked again when his Aunt sat on the stair step, looking exhausted. Without realizing it he sat on the now closed lid on his trunk as he listened to her. "According to him because I am your blood relative and...your mother...sacrificed her own life's blood for yours then your m-m-magic will protect you as long as you live with myself or...well I suppose Dudley as well. It...also protects us from...your sort."

"So the reason I was forced on you was for protection?"

"For both of us," she said and all of a sudden not looking him in the eyes.

"So I'm just...some sort of shield for your family!?" Harry was surprised how hurt he sounded. Why would he expect anything more from them?

"I...I won't lie to you, that is one of the only ways I could convince Vernon to keep you in the house at all. He always hated such... strange things even more than I ever did. Although I did nothing to stop him from abusing you over it. There's just no other way to say it is there? We abused you Harry, all three of us. I'm a bitter old woman, Vernon is a close minded bigot and we raised our son to be one of the worst sorts of bully. It took all of this," she motioned to the empty house with her hand, a hand still holding the red diary "for me to see that. It took my entire life falling down around me to see how much I...how much I betrayed my sister, and hurt you. You have the right to leave and never desire to see us again. But...you can't. That headmaster of yours swore he would do whatever it took to keep you here for most of the summer, even if he had to place some sort of m-magical guard on the house."

Harry was dumbfounded. All of the honesty from her was just too much for him to handle and he was angry, so very very angry. He stood back up and shoved his trunk back into the cupboard, and ran to the backyard, slamming the door on the way out.

* * *

Nearly an hour later the midday sun was beating down on Harry and his anger finally cooled enough to allow him to think about what his Aunt had said with a clear head. He couldn't even really understand all of it. She had finally owned up to the truth of the situation after all these years. Something he had never even done. He had been abused. His 'family' had abused him. Facing that truth felt like failure to him even though somewhere he knew it wasn't his fault. The tears were streaming silently down his face. He realized not too long ago just what that blood protection really meant. After the night Voldemort killed his parents and disappeared the remaining Death Eaters would have been out for blood. His blood. Blood of any family of Lily and James Potter that remained alive. Harry knew it must have made perfect sense to the Headmaster. Keep both Harry and his only surviving family safe at the same time, with one action. Never mind no one asked the Dursley family. Really they had no choice did they? None of them had a choice.

Suddenly a sickening thought hit him. Even if Sirius had been found innocent would the Headmaster think it safe enough for Harry to live with him? Could Sirius really match up to protection based in blood? He doubted it.

Tears grew heavier and he realized that this was the most he had ever cried in his life. Crying was another thing his relatives had never tolerated from him. Somehow it made him feel better. Nothing changed, nothing was any better but finally getting the truth into words, he felt...lighter. At least now, now Harry had an answer to a question that had long plagued him. He was forced to live with the Dursley family because blood magic protected him and them both. At least with that he could almost understand why he had been forced here and couldn't leave, almost.

With a shaky breath to steady himself harry walked back inside, thankful no one was in sight and nearly ran to his room to collapse on his bed. He was exhausted from lack of sleep and overwhelming emotion and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Forgot the AN:

Short chapter but I like where it ended and it was taking too long to write. If the dialog is a little odd I'm sorry but emotions are hard for me to put into words. I hope you still like it though.**  
**

_EDIT: Revised 8/6/2012._ Chapter is much changed and longer now. I got a rather harsh Anon. Reviewer about the reconciliation with Petunia being too quick, and I agree and have all along. I wasn't sure how to fix it until now however. I wish I could contact that person and ask if my changes were any better, but I will have to settle for asking anyone who reads after this. Even if you are just now finding the story, how are you finding the pacing of it? I am willing to do more revisions as needed I think. This seems to be my most popular story to date and want it to be worthy of that attention.


	5. The Return

The Return

A few days passed before Vernon Dursley came home. Those few days had not been the easiest for the Boy-Who-lived but they certainly had not been the hardest either. Aunt Petunia was making good on her words from that night by making the effort to treat him like a family member. They were by no means close, or acting like a family should, but this was a start. The fact that she had given up her weekly card game with the other neighborhood wives in order to take him shopping for some descent clothes and new glasses helped to convince the young wizard that she really had changed her mind about him. Oh certainly there were only a few sets of cloths, and it was from a cheap supermarket rack but he couldn't really expect more from her. Vernon had left the house with no word if he was ever coming back and she certainly didn't have a job so money was a concern. Still, though, the action helped him to start getting over the past years of neglect at her hand. Nothing was easy about the relationship between the two, but it was still a start. Deep in his heart he feared that this wouldn't last when his uncle returned.

Dudley was still only in the house for meals after two days, still not sure what to make of the change in dynamic relations between his mother and cousin. They had all three sat down and outlined what happened that night. His cousin had been told about the diary and they tried to explain the events of the night before, that Mum and Dad still love each other and that everything will be fine. When she tried to explain about Harry's new role in the house, actual family member, and the chubby boy started to shout in protest, running from the house as he was not yet able to deal with the changes around him.

Harry and his aunt had yet to have the discussion they needed about the training he needed. He had answered her hesitantly when she asked if anyone had ever told him about the clan powers and history. She had been surprised to know that Sirius had been able to tell him as much as he did but they had progressed no further in figuring the situation out. Somehow he knew that she was waiting on her husband, that there were a few things that had to be settled. Before she could concentrate on their healing relationship she had to heal the relationships in the rest of her family. Still things had been very peaceful those few days.

Everything changed when his uncle came home on a misty and cold afternoon. They had just finished lunch, Dudley had rushed upstairs to grab some games and things that he wanted to take to his friend's house for the day, Harry and Aunt Petunia were silently cleaning the dished of the leftover bits of salad and dressing that were still clinging to them. They were disrupted quite suddenly by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Aunt and nephew shared a look, knowing who it must be. Silently the woman dried her hands and walked over to hallway. Harry quickly finished the last dish when he heard the door open and stepped quietly over to where he could see. He was shocked to see his uncle standing there, neither he nor his aunt saying a word. After another tense moment of silence the large man spoke.

"I'm home." His voice was quieter and more subdued than Harry could ever remember hearing. Vernon Dursley was never a quiet man so it was easy to see that he was greatly affected by what he had done.

"Vernon…I… welcome home. Have you eaten? We have a little of the chef salad left over from lunch." His uncle muttered that he was fine, that he had eaten before he came. Now Harry wished that he could see their faces but he quickly moved back into the kitchen, he didn't want them to realize he had been listening. Eavesdropping wasn't very polite and the in no way did he want to jeopardize the tentative peace that had settled on number four. He heard the two walk into the living room and his aunt pause by the doorway to the kitchen.

"Harry, why don't you go upstairs and read, or…take a walk for a bit. Your uncle and I need to talk for a while." He looked back to her and nodded (he had been absently leafing through a book that had been on the counter) "Don't worry about helping with dinner," she finished as he walked back over to the front door. Carefully he avoided looking at his uncle's face. He was terrified of what he would see there if he was honest with himself. Little did he realize that he would not have seen the hatred he would have expected, but perhaps fear mixed with hints of shame and resignation? He didn't know that however, and walked out of the house down the path to the park where he was sure that he would be able to find a secluded place to call his godfather.

The Boy-Who-lived was cutting it very close to dinner time when he finally made his way back to the house. Sirius was very upset to hear about the events of the past few days and it was all Harry could do to convince the man not to come and slug his uncle in the jaw. The man certainly didn't sound like he was going to cause any more trouble. Actually he even sounded regretful. Personally the boy had some doubts about his intentions, fearing the worst, and Sirius might have picked up on it. Certainly he didn't seem convinced about his godson's safety and said boy was fairly certain he hadn't succeeded in making the man see reason, that he shouldn't risk himself by coming back to his home land.

By the time he got back to the house he was very hungry and his aunt was probably starting to wonder why he wasn't home yet. Home…that was a weird feeling only a few days had passed and Harry was starting to feel like number four privet drive could actually be a home to him and not just a house he was forced to stay in. Hope grew in his heart that his one biggest wish might actually come true someday soon: a home and a family.

But that could all change very quickly, now that his uncle was back.

Quietly he slipped into the side door and took of his muddy shoes on the rug not wanting to make more work for himself or his aunt. He turned around in shock when he noticed that the three people at the table were staring at him. Quietly and with great caution he sat down at the remaining place at the table and served himself some food. He couldn't tell if the quiet situation was due to his awkward arrival or to the situation that they were all in. He took a few bites of the meal in order to settle his hunger then stopped when he realized that they were still looking at him, as if expecting an explanation.

"Er…sorry I'm late," he apologized softly, feeling more fearful by the second. How was Uncle Vernon going to react to this? Here was a family trying to mend their issues, and he had stayed out too long and then just simply walked in with no regard to how the situation of the house might be.

"You're fine Harry," his aunt replied, gaining some of her composure back and trying to smile reassuringly at him. "I was a bit worried about you but I know you are…capable."

Capable of what he wasn't exactly sure but the boy simply nodded and went back to his food, glad that they didn't seem too angry with him for being late and interrupting their meal the rest of which was eaten in a silence that was only slightly less tense than it had started. Dudley, for once, did not beg for seconds, he simply fled to his room at the earliest possibility. That left Harry Potter, Vernon Dursley and Petunia Dursley all at the table, all having finished their meal, all silent, but no one willing to leave just yet.

"Boy!" Vernon huffed, but changed his wording with a glance to his wife, his voice still as demanding and berating as his nephew remembered. "Harry. Your aunt and I talked today while you were gone and we have some things to tell you. You better listen close too because I will not be repeating myself. "

As it was Vernon was not going to be doing much of the talking. As soon as he'd made his statement, probably to show Harry that his feelings for the boy hadn't changed, despite the behavior he had displayed for his wife, Petunia continued. The talk started out with quite a shocker, though, and Harry was glad he was sitting and not expected to reply.

"The reason other reason why this was such a big issue Harry," she said, the issue of course referring to the slap that had sent her to the floor a few nights previous "Is that I am pregnant again and we were both worried that if something like this were to happen again that the baby might be hurt. This is why, well, Vernon has agreed to well…"

"Work out some things," the man supplied with a grunt.

"Yes dear, that. And well…" she paused and Harry feared the worst. Despite her assurances the other day he still thought that they would kick him out so that they could use his bedroom for the baby, at the very least send him back to his cupboard. "I wanted you to know that I meant what I said that night. Your mother…Lily wanted you to be treated well, even if she couldn't be there and I promise again that I will do better than I have been. She apologized to me and the only way I can do the same is through you. The new baby will share our room" she indicated herself and Vernon "for the first few months, and then will be in your room while you're at school. After that…well the guest room hardly gets used so he or she will get that room."

Harry nodded absently, still not quite believing that his aunt still wanted anything to do with him. His uncle looked uncomfortable with the change of family dynamic but he didn't seem to want to upset his wife either.

"B-Harry, I…you need to know that nothing has changed between us, I'm simply letting Petunia deal with you now. Understand?"

Harry simply nodded, a little too shocked to speak. Things really did seem to be happening as badly as he had feared. Now all he needed to do was free his godfather and he would have a real family…maybe. If he was lucky.

AN: Well well well, things are changing at number four! Ah I can't wait for the future. These next chapters are going to be the hardest to write but they will be important! I'm doing a Chapter a Day for this story and School of Wolf (a new story, check it out!) for NaNoWriMo so expect fairly frequent updates!


	6. The Shopping Trip

Monday morning came much too quickly for Harry's liking. He had sworn to himself that today he was going to speak to his aunt about Natura training but that didn't mean he wasn't nervous about the whole thing. Thankfully his uncle was back at work and Dudley was still mostly avoiding the house. Peeking over at his alarm clock he was surprised to notice what time it was. One of the very first things Petunia had changed about his routine was helping with breakfast and lunch. Since no-one got up at the same time in the morning during the week and lunch was generally just himself and his aunt then there was really little need for his help. In her own words she had told him that she was 'quite capable to do it myself, thank you.' Part of him suspected that she was trying to make up for making him do so much of her work over the years. Honestly he didn't mind the break but some part of him missed cooking. Dinner was still his to help with though because of the large amounts of food that they were making.

With a groan he pulled himself from the comfort of his bed and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. Longer showers had been an unexpected benefit from his new family status; there were no more glares when he took time to savor the warm water cascading down his skin. When he had dried himself and pulled on one of his new outfits he headed downstairs. As he made his way into the kitchen he saw Aunt Petunia cleaning a little while listening to a radio program. Stopping in the doorway he watched her for a second. She seemed…lighter than he recalled ever seeing her. To him she had always been uptight and obsessed with perfection. Not for the first time he found himself wondering just what his mother had written in that book to create such a change. Not that he was complaining, seeing her like this made it much easier for him to approach her about what he needed.

Making more noise he walked into the kitchen and moved to make himself a bowl of cereal. Breakfast was normally a warm meal in the Dursley house but since Harry and her own son got up at times when she didn't really want to cook Petunia had started to keep a box of cereal in the house for them. She looked over to him as he got the meal but said nothing until she finished scrubbing the section of the stove she was working on.

"I am going out to start shopping for the baby." She said suddenly "if you wish you can go with me, or stay here but I won't be back in time to make lunch."

Harry thought for a second then replied "I'd like to go with you Aunt Petunia…Thank you." The last was a bit of an afterthought but he did mean what he said. The chance to get out of the house and away from the neighborhood was too much to pass up. He was starting to feel a little restless. She simply nodded in reply as she put away the cleaning supplies and got ready to go.

About a half hour later they were in the car and headed to the shopping center close to the house. The young boy had never been there himself as his aunt had never wanted the embarrassment of having others see him when she went on a shopping trip. There were a variety of stores and he was surprised to notice that he was a little excited to see what was in them.

He was slightly disappointed. Most of the stores they went into only had baby and maternity things in them, and as exciting as a new cousin was he wasn't really interested in them. Sensing this, his aunt had given him permission to explore the other sections of one of the department stores they went into. The book section was where he ended up, reading the summaries of fantasy books and trying to see if any of them were even close to the truth. With a sigh he up the books back on the shelf. Some of them seemed pretty interesting but he had no muggle money and the thought of his aunt buying it for him never occurred to him. He would have been shocked to see her follow behind him and grab the books he had been looking at to be put into the basket.

He was surprised enough to be told to pick out some more clothes and new shoes now that Aunt Petunia was less worried about having available money. As a kid Harry had never really cared about his clothing, or the way he looked but now that he was wearing clothes that actually fit him he could sort of see what the deal was. Maybe when he bought his new school supplies he would get some better wizard style clothes.

Or not.

As they started to finish up Harry noticed that there was a pet store next door. He didn't say anything but his Aunt noticed where he was looking and told him he could go and look for a few minute if he wanted, but there would be no complaining when it was time to leave. That was easy enough to agree to. Harry never complained to his families face in his life. Doing that was not good for his health or his diet. As soon as he got inside he was enthralled though and wandered around the open cages of hamsters and rabbits and ferrets. He noticed the dog collars and wished he had some muggle money to get his godfather a present. A pink present. Ah well maybe he could find one in the shop where he had gotten Hedgwig. Wishing this store catered to owls he looked around the bird section to see if there was anything that his familiar would like but no luck there, all the toys were meant for Vegetarian birds that stayed in their cages all the time. Carefully he avoided the reptile area still feeling a little unsure about his ability from the trouble it caused this year. That and he didn't think his aunt would appreciate it if someone saw him talking to a snake.

Maybe he would just visit Diagon Ally early and go to the magical pet shop to talk to them…na that would cause too much trouble. Being Harry Potter in any magical place was a drain, it would be better to simply go when he needed to for school things.

Thinking of school again made him think of the homework he had yet to start on. Last year he had done it at the Weasley's. He'd have to ask if he could get his school books and parchment from the locked cupboard at the very least, if not the rest of his things. Just better not let Uncle Vernon find out. Well it shouldn't be too hard, he could even call Sirius if he got too stuck.

Speaking of his godfather, he really hoped the man was not on his way back to Britain. He really didn't need to and he could get caught. Harry thought that maybe Hermione would know some way to force the Ministry to give the man a trial but they didn't seem to follow their own laws half the time. Certainly he hoped that he wouldn't have to resort to throwing his name around to get something done but he would if he had to in order to help his godfather. Nothing about the man's situation seemed fair. The very fact that he didn't get a trial at all spoke volumes to Harry and he vowed to make it right. Mentally he reminded himself to write his friends when he got home to see if they had any ideas.

When they finally got back into the car for the ride home Harry remembered one of the reasons he agreed to go on this trip to begin with.

"Er…Aunt Pertunia? I er" he paused not sure how to say what he needed to "Well you know that my Godfather told me a bit about the Natura families and my…er our power and I've been working on finding my form but…well after that I…"

"You'll need my help," she interjected smoothly. He guessed that she had known he was going to ask her this for a while.

"Yes," Harry replied quietly, still not sure of his position with her anymore and not sure of what her answer would be.

"We will have to find some place other than the house to practice, someplace where no one will see. That nasty Mrs. Burns from across the street is much too nosey for us to work near Privet Drive." She said after a moment and the boy could barely believe what she was saying. His aunt was going to work on something…magical, voluntarily, with _him_? Well she had grown up her entire life with the Natura Powers…maybe it didn't count as magic to her. Still he didn't even know what her form was. After another silence he asked her.

"I am…well I will show you once you transform for the first time, conceder it an incentive to succeed." He was disappointed but nodded in acceptance; she might be a little uncomfortable thinking about such an…abnormal thing after all these years after all. Wait… was that a smile on her lips? Was she…no. There was no way Petunia Dursley was teasing him. They may have been forming a better relationship the past few days but the world was just not ready for that.

Once they got home Harry helped to bring the clothing inside, not noticing the approving look on the neighbor's faces that finally saw him in clothes that fit. Maybe the delinquent had shaped up over the past three years at that school of his; the neighborhood had always wondered what would become of that strange boy and his weird ways.

As they prepared dinner together Harry mentioned his schoolwork with a little trepidation at pushing their new understanding but he wasn't stupid enough to wait and say anything when the other two members of the house were around.

"Well… as long as you're just writing out of your books I see no problem with that. Is your desk and chair acceptable?" She had answered after a moment's thought and Harry shrugged.

"I mostly write on my bed, I can spread out better on there."

"As long as I don't find ink stains on your sheets," There was that smile again. Twice in one day. Forget the world _he_ wasn't ready for this new Petunia. With a shake of his head they finished the preparations and dinner went off without a hitch or bad comment. Even Dudley seemed to be on his best behavior although having his favorite cake for dessert didn't hurt Harry was sure.

As he was going into his room for the night, after getting his schoolbooks, his aunt's voice made him pause.

"Let me know when you find your form. We'll start then."

* * *

**Ug, sorry for the wait but life caught up with my and I failed NaNo for the third year. I've had this and the next two chapters for SoW written but not edited. As you might have noticed though I have been taking Challenged over at the HPFC Forum so I have some new stories posted and in the works, go check them out! I also think I have the three Natura forms figured out, I just have to figure out how I'm going to handle showing the training and I will work on the next chapter. As always, hope you enjoy and feel free to tell me why if you didn't.**


End file.
